Friday
Specialist bases to move mainstream schools ‘beyond comfort zone’
DfE director general Dr Tim Coulson expresses hope that the ambitious schools White Paper is ‘weeks away’
Lack of home reading prompts school concerns over language skills
A quarter of parents avoid reading to their children because they lack belief in their own ability, finds Parentkind poll, as schools contend with ‘weaker language foundations’
Parent anxiety is creeping into classrooms - here’s how to counter it
One deputy head reflects on why parents are growing increasingly anxious for their children – and says the best solution is more discomfort, not less
Feeling ‘in control’ helps students make stronger reading progress
Researchers find a notable decline in students’ sense of control over their academic outcomes as they progress through key stage 3
Thursday
£2m donation boosts Lift Schools’ surplus
Lift Schools, the fifth biggest multi-academy trust in England, says it is increasingly looking at income beyond government funding to support its schools
More parents break term-time holiday rules despite higher fines
Union leaders have warned that the penalty notice system is ‘clearly not working’ following latest data
Rewarding good behaviour key to success, hubs evaluation finds
The DfE’s behaviour hubs programme saw schools shifting towards restorative rather than zero-tolerance behaviour management policies, says final evaluation report
Internal suspension rules ‘must not undermine’ schools
The schools White Paper will introduce measures that keep more suspended pupils in school under supervision, instead of sending them home, says DfE
Primary MAT’s finances improve despite school-level deficits
Bath and Wells Diocesan Academies Trust’s latest accounts reveal 10 schools with a combined deficit of £775,000
Trust’s merger masks £1m deficit
The Harbour Schools Partnership publishes its first accounts since it was formed in April 2025 from the merger of Ventrus Multi Academy Trust and Tarka Learning Partnership
Supporting speech and language: lessons from a specialist school
The number of children with speech and language challenges is increasing. Ellen Peirson-Hagger hears from one specialist setting about the techniques it uses to support learning that all schools could adopt
Your choices as a leader matter - but implementation matters more
School leaders fall into the trap of thinking that introducing a new approach will fix a problem – but often it isn’t the approach itself that is the issue, writes Thomas Kent
